Labyrinth: A Different Generation
by Erik's Aria
Summary: When Sarah's niece ends up in the Labyrinth, can she take care of herself? Or will the new Goblin King come to her aid? OC J/S eventually Rating may change.
1. Prologue: A Familiar Story

Prolouge

Once upon a time, there was a young girl who was very beautiful, but she was tortured by her cruel stepmother. She had tried to explain the cruelty she endured to her father, but he would always dismiss her pain as the complaints of a petty teenager. One night, when her father and his wife were out, she was taking care of the baby. She was very tired from a long day of chores, and had little patience for the child. When it simply would not stop crying, the girl wished the child away to the Goblin King.

After she realized her mistake, she begged the king to give her back her brother, but he would not relent. He told her the only way to win her brother back is to run the course of his labyrinth in just thirteen hours. The girl took up the challenge and went through the labyrinth.

She encountered many hardships and was distracted even by the King himself. When she finally reached the castle beyond the goblin city, the Goblin King offered the girl her dreams. But she refused. The King gave back her brother and they returned home. The girl spent many nights talking with the friends she had made in the labyrinth, and she took very good care of her little brother.

But, as everyone does, the young girl eventually grew up and forgot her childish dreams of the labyrinth. She fell in love with a man and started a family. And she helped to take care of her brother's family as well.

But on dark stormy nights when she would take care of her brother's children, she told stories of a young girl's journey through the Labyrinth.

Of course these were just _stories_!

But her niece believed every word that her Aunt Sarah would say.


	2. Life Can't Be Easy

Haha sooooooo because I finally decided to actually do the math on this, If Sarah was 57(Toby would be 42) during Alice's adventures, then the year should technically be 2028. But because I'm the writer and I don't wanna do a future kinda book, were gonna pretend nothing's changed for the next 16 years. Kay? If that's gonna bother you a heck of a lot, then I suggest you go read a different fanfiction. Sorry!

**A Tiny bit of info about this: **1.) I mapped this out originally for Alice to be Sarah's granddaughter, but then I decided to just make her Sarah's niece, so if you see Sarah referred to as Grandma, that's why. 2.) So when Sarah grew up she moved away to New York where she became a writer while her husband was a Lawyer. When they found out Clark(her husband) had cancer they moved out to the country to relax for a few years. Toby wanted to be near Sarah while she was in that 'time of trouble' so the family moved out there. The story takes place about a month or two after they moved in.

**Cast: **Olivia Wilde as Katherine(Alice's Mom), Owen Wilson as Toby, Older Jennifer Connelly as Sarah, and Younger Rachel McAdams as Alice

**Disclaimer: **sadly, I do not own Labyrinth or any of its beautiful characters :(

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**Life Can't Be Easy**

"Alice! Toby, did you wake Alice up?"

"Yeah, she said she'd be up in a minute."

"Did you see her out of bed? …Well there's the problem."

In darkness I could hear the voices of my parents downstairs. I opened my eyes a crack and saw the sunlight streaming in through my bedroom window. I groaned and rolled back over, hiding myself in my covers. Hearing my mother's footsteps as she approached my room, I shrunk further into the warm comfort of my bed.

"Alice, get out of bed! We're about to leave, and everyone else is ready!" I opened my right eye to see my mother's short form scowling at me. Her light blonde hair was pulled back in a pony tail, and she had on her casual clothes and tennis shoes. When her short patience thinned she yanked the covers off me and dragged me out of bed.

"C'mon, Alice. I'll be back in five minutes to check on you, please be ready."

And with that she left my room for me to change and get ready. As I pulled on a t-shirt and jeans I remembered that today we were going over to Aunt Sarah's house to help her clean it out after Uncle Clark had died. I pulled my hair back in a pony like mom's and didn't bother with any make up. Grabbing my Converse as I went, I ran downstairs for breakfast. I gobbled down my Pop Tart as I put my shoes on.

"Well look at that. She's alive!" I turned to see my older brother saunter in and take a seat next to me.

"Oh, shut up Owen." I rolled my eyes at my idiotic brother as he poked fun at me. Flipping his too-long blond hair back as he laughed. He rustled my hair as I brushed past him to the car and crawled to the back.

My parents had already assumed their positions in the front, and my little sister Grace was already in one of the middle row seats, and I knew Owen would throw a total fit if he had to sit in the back. 'I'm seventeen for god's sake! Not nine!' Sitting all squished up was a small price to pay in order to keep the peace.

The hour ride from Beacon out to Aunt Sarah's House in Cooperstown passed quickly as my mind wandered back to the stories she would tell me when I was small. When Grace was a baby she told them, but when she asks for one now she tells different ones. Anyways, we finally pulled into her gravel driveway to find her sitting out on the front porch waiting for us. Dad got out first and gave her a good hug.

"How are you doing sis?" he asked, tiptoeing around actually asking her how she felt about her husband's death, but she caught him.

"I'm _fine_, Toby. And how are you all?" she turned and asked the rest of the family.

"Aunt Sarah! I got a new doll yesterday! Will you play with me?" my eight-year-old sister asked innocently. Sighing at Grace's constant need for attention and looked around as we all walked inside. It was much the same as when Uncle Clark was alive. Cluttered and covered in dust. Not that Sarah and Clark were hoarders or anything, they just liked stuff. Sarah was an antique collector, and Uncle Clark liked it too. In the corner of the dining room was the old baby-grand piano where I had first been introduced to classical music which had turned into my favourite as I grew up. I smiled at the fond memories and went off into my own reverie.

My attention was caught when my mother called my name impatiently, "Alice, are you even listening?"

"What?" I opened my eyes wide and tried to pull of sweet and innocent, but I guess I'm getting a bit old for it.

"Aunt Sarah has something she wants you to look at."

"Oh!" I rushed down the hallway to Sarah's room.

"Here we are." Sarah said as she patted on an old vanity set. "I know it isn't very pretty, but since you've just moved in, and I thought you might like it." She smiled at me with that old-lady charm and I stepped forward to give the vanity further inspection. It had a mirror attached to it, and was painted white, but the paint had started to chip off. One of the drawer knobs was missing, but the rest were small crystal spheres. I ran my hands over the old wood, deciding that although it wasn't my normal style, something about the vanity drew me too it. I smiled and went to give my aunt a hug.

"I love it. Thank you." I whispered.

"I'm glad. This vanity has gone through a whole lot."

"Really? Like what?" I asked, sitting down on a nearby chair.

"Well, when Clark and I moved here from San Francisco, I brought this with me. Probably the only thing I brought." Sarah got _that look_ in her eye and I could tell she was a million miles away and probably years away too. _Well, at least I know where I got that look from._ I smiled to myself and began to check the vanity drawers for any baubles.

In the drawer missing it's knob I found a small little red book called _Labyrinth._ "Aunt Sarah, what's this?"

"That is the book I would read to you and your father and the rest of you young kids when you were growing up. But I think you liked it the best." She said rather solemnly with a sad smile on her face.

I turned the first few pages and recognized the story. The girl who ran the Goblin King's labyrinth to win back her brother. "Oh this story!" I gleamed through the pages, reading some of my favourite parts, and skipping others. "Aunt Sarah, is it okay if I keep this?" I asked quietly.

She was quiet for a minute, as she gently took the small book from my hands. After a moment, she finally said, "Yes. I believe I've long since stopped believing in fairy tales. Why don't you get back in the habit for me?" she joked.

"Oh, I'll have no problem doing that!"

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We helped clean out the rest of her house, and at the end of the day we packed the vanity and several other items into the back of the car and headed home. After unpacking everything, and filling my new vanity with my makeup and some hair accessories, I crashed on my bed and began to read the _Labyrinth._ When I was rather close to finishing, I heard my mom call for me from downstairs. "Coming!" I shouted as I made my way down.

"Alice, how do you explain this?" In her hand I saw my latest report card. Immediately my stomach was in my feet. I hadn't done very well in Biology this quarter, and I knew I couldn't have made anything above a C.

"Mom, I know it looks bad, but everyone else-"

"No! Alice, there is no 'everyone else.' You are the one who has made this awful grade. _You_ are the one who is constantly having you head in the clouds, and _you_ are the one who will fix this if you ever want your privileges back!"

"What privileges?" I asked, angry that she was shouting at me, and in dire need of aloneness.

"No phone, no TV, no internet, and no reading unassigned books until these grades are up." She said firmly, counting off each on a finger.

"But Mom, that's not fair!" I whined, not caring that I sounded like a three year old.

"I don't care, Alice! Until these grades are up, you'll just have to learn to live with it." Just then my father came walking in.

"Katherine, what's going on? Alice, have you disobeyed your mother?" he immediately went into 'strict-parent-mode' and I just couldn't take all the blame and accusations suddenly piled on me.

"I can't do _anything_ right, can I!" with that I ran back up to my room and locked the door behind me. I collapsed onto my bed and held back tears. I normally never raise my voice, but they just weren't listening, and they seemed so ashamed. I felt something hard dig into my back, and reached underneath me to pull it out. In my hand, I found the small red book I was reading before I went downstairs.

I hugged it to me tightly and whispered on a whim, "I wish the goblins would take me away from here." I closed my eyes and spun those words around in my head, thinking about what they could really mean.

"Alice, you get down here, we are not finished with this discussion." I heard my mom shout from downstairs.

I rolled my eyes, knowing what was coming next. "Right now."

"Right Now!"

I said in unison with my mother, mocking her. I rolled off my bed and trudged over to my door, unlocking it and flinging it open only to find…a forest. I gasped and turned around; expecting my room, but it had disappeared. I turned again and my door was gone as well. I walked further into the forest, and saw a small creature scuttle across the ground. As I looked around, I noticed other oddities that would not be in a normal forest. Everything seemed to have a glow to it, and some things would move when I felt no breeze. Another small creature came out from behind a bush and started pulling weeds from the ground.

_Normal animals don't have opposable thumbs. Or pointed ears. Is that a goblin? _My eyes widened at the thought, and I shook my head back and forth, covering my mouth with my hands.

"No, _no_, this can't be happening. I must be dreaming!" I ran up a small hill and looked around me. I could see in the distance a castle, surrounded by a winding wall, formed into a maze; a Labyrinth. I sank to my knees and squeezed my eyes tight. I slowly counted to 100 and opened my eyes. The scenery around me had not changed, and almost seemed intensified.

"I've gone insane."

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Yay! Chapter Uno! please leave comments! I love feedback! :)


	3. Enjoy My Labyrinth

Author's note-Hi! I is back! With chapter dos!

Hey, I know that there are readers, I can see the view count on the little graph thinggy. And I'm proud of** tazzledmuch** for being the ONLY ONE to fav/follow this story, but I really want REVIEWERS! Please? I ask for so little. Just give me reviews, and I'll write (mostly) anything you want. Just fear me, love me, do as I say, and I will be your slave. And no, I didn't plan to give you that little Jareth monolouge, but you're welcome. Now kick back, listen to some David Bowie, and read. And when your done, review. Please.

**Info Bubble: **this chapter is done in the POV of the Goblin King. (Who is theoretically played by Jude Law)

**Disclaimer: **Sadly I don't own the Labyrinth :(

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2

"Yer Hiness! Yer Hiness!" I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. The goblins had been terribly irritating today, and I had developed quite the headache.

"What is it now?" I groaned as yet another goblin screeched out.

"Therz a humin in th' forest!" That caught my attention. I stood from my throne and took a moment to think about this. If an uninvited human was found in the Goblin City, I'd certainly be in trouble with the Council. And the Labyrinth would have an even worse reputation with the Faerie court than it did now.

"But no child has been wished away." I said, trying to remember if this had ever happened before.

I conjured a crystal and watched as it zoomed through the forest and showed me a young girl lying on the ground. I growled and closed my hand into a fist, crushing the crystal into a million pieces. Anger and fear and irritation surged through me.

"Which one of you _idiots_ let a human into my labyrinth?" I hissed and looked around menacingly at the suddenly fearful goblins. I didn't get angry often, but I was quite the force to be reckoned with when I was.

A loud chorus of "I didn't!" rang out around me, adding to my growing headache.

"Enough! I'll have to deal with her myself." Before I could summon my magic to leave a younger goblin came rushing in.

"Yer majisty, a Caller from de Council!" The small twiggy little thing shouted towards me as the Caller-Bird flew in.

"What is your message?" I asked impatiently as it landed on the arm of my throne.

"The Council of the Universal Creatures of the Underground has recently detected the presence of an uninvited human in the Underground, specifically the Labyrinth. They have assigned the task of capturing and containing the human to Rylon, the King of the Goblins and Keeper of the Labyrinth. They ask that you tend to the task immediately, and report back to the Council when the task has been completed.

"Signed the esteemed members of the Council of the Universal Creatures of the Underground."

After completing its task, the bird disappeared in a puff of white smoke, and in its place was the letter written by the council.

"Very well then."

I wrapped my cape around me, transforming into my hawk form. I hovered in my throne room for a minute before swooping out the window and across the Labyrinth. I closed my eyes and let the magic of the Labyrinth pull me towards the human. I opened my eyes and saw the form of a girl huddled on the ground in the forest. I swooped down and transformed back into my human form as I landed.

The girl was young; probably aging somewhere between fifteen and seventeen. Her curly mousy-brown hair was pulled back from her face with a hair tie, but some shorter wisps of hair had fallen and framed her face. Her pale skin contrasted against her darker hair, but gave her an ethereal-like beauty. After inspecting the young human I called out to her.

"Here now, who are you?"

Her head shot up and when she realized I was human-or somewhat so-she lunged towards me, grasping on to my jacket for dear life. "Please, where am I?" She asked quite desperately. Her green eyes seemed to pierce through my soul and left me feeling slightly uneasy. Frowning, I gently removed her hands from my clothes and conjured a glass of water and offered it to her, knowing she must be thirsty. She gulped it down greedily.

"You are in the Labyrinth." I answered calmly. She finished off her glass and nodded her thanks as she handed it back to me. With a wave of my hand, the glass disappeared, and reappeared in the kitchen of the palace.

"But how did I get here?" she asked, beginning to calm down.

"I could as you the same."

"Oh." I waited some time for her to reply, but she seemed to be contemplating something. My short attention span quickly began to dwindle, and I huffed as I sat down on a tree stump. I conjured a crystal and began to juggle it but she even still was wrapped up in her own thoughts. Finally I dismissed the crystal and addressed her.

"Rude little thing, aren't you? Not answering people's questions." I gave her a pointed look as her head snapped up to meet mine.

"I was going to answer! I was debating whether or not I could trust you." She scowled at me, and I smirked in return.

"And what was the verdict?" I gave her a charming smile, toying with her slightly.

"I don't" she gave me a similar smile in return, mocking me. I rose from my stump and began to circle her like prey.

"Hmm. I don't quite think you realize who I am." I stopped in front of her.

"Enlighten me."

"I am Rylon, King of the Goblins, and Keeper of the Labyrinth. Successor of Jareth, and son of Edyln." After I told her my title, she quickly backed away from me, eyes wide once more.

"No! Jareth, are you certain?" she was suddenly very aware of her surroundings, afraid the past king may appear at the call of his name.

"Yes."

"I can't believe it." She whispered and covered her mouth with her hands, shaking her head back and forth.

"How do you know of Jareth?" I asked curiously. It wasn't uncommon for humans to know of The Goblin King, but to know them by name without having been to the Labyrinth before was…_uncommon_.

"He was mentioned in a book I read. But that doesn't matter; I demand that you take me home right now." I chuckled slightly at her audacious demand. Had I been any other king in the Underground, the girl surely would have been killed. Or worse.

"I'm afraid I cannot, Miss. I am sent here by orders of the Council to retrieve you until they've decided what to do with you." At this she seemed to be pulled out of her train of thought, as she scowled at me with those piercing green eyes again.

"What to do with me? I'm a person not a thing, dammit! Now take me home!" I assume she realized how rashly she reacted and quickly put her temper in check. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Please, I can't stay here." She opened them and gave me a very heartbroken look.

"I apologize, I cannot. But I will do everything in my power to make your stay here comfortable. And perhaps it will not be too long of a stay. Come, the castle is this way." I took several steps deeper into the forest when I heard her soft voice behind me.

"I-I have no choice, then? I must stay here?" I turned to see she began to chew on her bottom lip nervously.

I sighed and felt pity on her. She was lost in this strange world she didn't even know existed and without knowing how she got here. "I'm afraid so."

"Lead the way."

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**Author's Note-**Who is this strange new Goblin King? And what has happened to Jareth? And why was this chapter so short?

Only the author will ever know...jk. i'll tell u eventually! ;)


	4. The Castle Beyond the Goblin City

Hi! Sorry it's been so long since I uploaded, school started and i actually had to do stuff and get back in the groove of things, but now I'm back! This chappie's kinda short but fear not! For a super crazy long chapter comes this weekend! Yay! Btw, the rating was changed to T because I realized there was more cussing in this than I thought! My apologies. Enjoy!

**Extra brownie points go to Unique Fantasiser for being the ONLY PERSON who left a comment!**(that means more people need to review this story)

ermergerd! im such a bad person! i totes mogotes forgot to mention the people who liked this story! Ah! So for my forgetfullness, you get EXTRA Browine points! Thank you **trosteule**, **observingangel**, and **Kusa** for faving and following!

**Disclaimer**(forgot this too!): I do not own any part or portion of The Labyrinth.

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The Castle Beyond the Goblin City

At first I hadn't given much thought to the man, only that he was the closest thing to human I had seen, and therefore had to be intelligent enough to give me some answers. Before he had shown up, several goblins had the courage to approach me and poke and prod me to see what I would do. It wasn't so bad until they started trying to pull on my hair and rip off parts of my clothes for souvenirs.

I guess they felt the kings presence before I saw him because they had run off when I crouched down to the ground to shoo them off-and by shoo I mean thoroughly insult before throwing them across the forest floor if need be.

So to see a human-well, I suppose he's fae since he's the King. And a damn attractive one at that. He was very tall, probably a bit over six feet. His brown hair was tousled about like he had just rolled out of bed and only run his fingers through it. It wasn't too long, but brushed against his shoulders. Originally dark brown in colour, but spending days in the sun had given him golden highlights. He eyebrows were dark and straight, but curved up just slightly and the ends.

And under those dark eyebrows were the bluest eyes I have ever seen. As if a part of the summer sky lived there. If eyes were windows to the soul, his soul must be truly beautiful. A straight nose led down to thin lips framed by a straight angular jaw line.

The more I thought of him, the more I understood what Aunt Sarah had said about Jareth having a certain air about him. As soon as Rylon had shown up, I felt calmer and at ease in his presence.

As we walked through the forest I kept to myself and thought about everything. Mainly, I thought about was how I had gotten here. True, I had wished myself, but the goblins didn't bring me; I came by myself. I mean, Aunt Sarah's book had said that the Goblin King had granted the girl certain powers, but Rylon didn't know me. How could he have given me powers if he didn't know me?

_But he wasn't the only Goblin King._

Maybe Jareth had given something to me. But why? He didn't know me. I was the closest thing Sarah had to a daughter, but it just didn't make any sense to me.

Tired from thinking so much, I moved to more light-hearted thoughts. Sarah's stories were true. That meant that poor girl from the story really had wished away her brother. And all those creatures she met here were real.

_Mental note: find Ludo, Sir Didymus and Hoggle before I leave. _I smiled at the thought. _But what happened to Jareth?_ I wonder if he was still in the Goblin Kingdom. Just because Rylon had become the new king didn't mean he had to leave, did it? Maybe he died. Aunt Sarah said he had just disappeared after being defeated. Gathering my courage, I decided to ask Rylon.

"Uh, Rylon?" I asked timidly, not sure if I was overstepping my boundaries by addressing him so casually.

"Yes?" he glanced over his shoulder at me and I jogged up to match his pace.

"What happened to Jareth?" at first he looked at me and seemed surprised that I asked. Then he looked ahead again and his brow furrowed slightly.

"No one really knows. I only talked with him once before I inherited the land, and once I did he just disappeared."

"Are you in relation to him?" I asked.

"Distantly. My father was his second cousin or something of the sort. Because he had no proper heir and I am the youngest of my family, I became the Goblin King."

"Oh. Is it very hard being a king?" he gave me another look, this time with humor.

"A rather curious thing, aren't you?" I just smiled and shrugged my shoulders. I was fifteen, wasn't this the time to question everything? "Not particularly, no. The goblins are smarter than they look, and are quite self-sufficient. They hunt and gather their own food, and trade amongst themselves. Of course, they're bloody irritating to be around for more than a half hour because they are endlessly bored and so easily entertained." I giggled at his dry humor and he gave me a small smile in return. "And what of you? I don't believe you ever even told me your name. Honestly, you humans have no manners anymore."

"Ha. Try living in New York." I suddenly felt rather homesick, and frowned at the thought that I'll have to stay here until we clear up _how_ I got here exactly. "My name is Alice Cordelia Williams. I have one older brother and a younger sister. I am not queen or princess of anything, nor am I in any relation to royalty."

"How interesting. Well, it appears we've made it home." And he was right.

Somewhere on our stroll through the forest, he had either a tunnel that led straight to the throne room, or he had gradually used magic to get us here. I looked around at the rather bland stone walls. There were no tapestries hung on the walls, save for one above the throne which itself was some type of horn curved around to create the arm of the chair. Velvet drapes cascaded around the padded stone seat of the throne, and several goblins jumped off said chair when they noticed the re-appearance of their King.

"Tyon, go send a message to the Council that the human girl was recovered and is now in my care." A small goblin with big yellow eyes and dark brown skin nodded once and disappeared to complete his task.

"All right." With those two words, every goblin in the throne room, and perhaps in the entire kingdom stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to Rylon.

"This is the human girl found in the forest. You are to address her as Lady Alice or Miss. None of you are to bother her or go into her chambers without permission _from_ _me_. She is a guest in my castle until further notice. Let's give her a warm welcome shall we?" At this the goblins cheered and most crowded around me introducing themselves and asking questions. I laughed and patted some on their heads.

"_Now_, I suppose the Lady is rather hungry and needs a good meal. Go and prepare dinner." Nearly all the goblins in the room scurried away through all different doors and crevices in the room. I looked over at Rylon and smiled. A silent sort of thank you for making me feel welcome, but more importantly for preparing food. He nodded in return and called for a goblin. "Alice, this is Lyal. She will be your lady in waiting for you time here. She will show you to your chambers, now."

"My chambers?" I was…flattered, but I didn't want him to go to any trouble for me.

"Yes. Unless you would rather sleep in broom closets like the rest of the goblins?"

_Never mind. Go to lots of trouble for me._

"So, Lyal, where are those chambers?" I looked up and saw Rylon smile and shake his head as the small goblin grabbed my hand and pulled me forward.

She pulled me up a small winding staircase and down a hallway and ended in front of two intricately carved wooden doors. I ran my hand across the wood to the brass doorknob and opened it.

_When I go back home, I'm taking this room with me._

The room was massive and kind of circular shaped. The bed was draped in luxurious fabrics of greens and blues, with accents of silver. The dark wooden four poster bed frame had similar carvings on it as the door, and sheer curtains flowed from each post. To the right of the bed was a set of doors that led out to a balcony that viewed over the Labyrinth. A door to the left of the bed was the bathroom. Complete with a marble tub, sink, tiles, and toilet, it was the best damn bathroom I had ever seen.

The main room also had a writing desk, wardrobe, and vanity of the same dark carved wood as the bed frame. The wardrobe was filled of beautiful dresses made of the richest fabrics and shoes to match. The vanity held a jewelry box of the same stature.

After taking everything in and inspecting the finer details, I toed off my Converse and jumped on the bed. Giggling as I submerged myself in the multitude of pillows, I glanced up to see Lyal's fear stricken face.

"Lyal, what's wrong?" I asked sitting up straight in the bed.

She moved from foot to foot, her face contorted with uncertainty. "King-man never allows the goblins to play in the beds." I suppose she was uncertain how to handle the situation, not wanting to tell me what not to do, but also not wanting to disobey her king.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Let's just keep it our little secret, shall we?" I gave her a friendly smile, trying to calm her down.

"Okay Alice-lady!" she seemed happy with my suggestion and moved forward to help me off the bed. "King-man wants you to look change clothes for dinner, okay? You pick dress while I start bath." She dragged me over to the wardrobe and opened it then went on to the bathroom.

I looked through the dresses, first deciding what color dress I wanted then which style. After looking through the small selection of yellow dresses-there were more dresses of darker colors for some reason-I found one I deemed appropriate for dinner. The dress itself was strapless with an empire waist that flowed to the floor with a small train. It was covered in a layer of sheer fabric that with small rows of crystals that criss-crossed across the dress. Below the bust was a green satin fabric band that tied into a bow slightly off-center. I laid the dress out across the bed and went back to look for shoes to match.

"Bath is ready, Alice-lady. I'll pick shoes!" Lyal said from the door of the bathroom.

I nodded and walked into the bathroom and felt a waft of heat from the warm bathwater. Lyal quickly showed me how to work the tub and where all the soaps and shampoos were. She laid out a towel and a robe and left. I gently dipped my hand in the water, testing it before I undressed. After deeming it a suitable temperature, I began to disrobe.

I eased myself down into the warm water, taking a minute to relax and become comfortable. After I had washed my hair and body, I took a few minutes to just sit in the cooling water and rest after today's confusion and stress.

"Alice-lady? I picked out shoes," I gently heard Lyal outside the bathroom door, waking me from my nap.

"Sorry, Lyal, I fell asleep," I quickly hopped out of the now cool water and dried off, pulling on the robe and throwing my hair up in a towel.

"Here I am," I said as I walked out.

"Okay! Come sit while I do make-up and hair." She pulled me over to the vanity and sat me down on the little stool.

I watched as she slowly transformed my plain-Jane face into a beautiful thing. My curly brown hair was pulled back into a loose, stylish up-do. I slipped on the dress to find it fit perfectly and put on the gladiator-style sandals Lyal had picked out for me. I looked myself over in the full-length mirror in the bathroom, admiring the beautiful work Lyal had done.

"Alice-lady? Do you like it?" she asked timidly.

"Lyal, I love it! Oh, you did such a great job," I reached down and gave her a little hug, pulling away when she squirmed at the unfamiliarity of a hug.

"Time for dinner now, I'll show you the way."

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once again, sorry for the shortness! And reviews would be much appreciated!


	5. What No One Knew

Bonjour! Here's chappie numero 4!

muchos grasias to **artseblis** for following this story!

**Disclaimer: **i don't own nuthin.

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But What No One Knew...

I smiled to myself as Lyal pulled me back down the winding staircase into the throne room, and through several other doors and hallways. Not that I enjoyed having to stoop over to properly hold onto her hand, but because it was cute and endearing the way she pulled me around much like Grace did when she was younger. Finally she let go of my hand to open the unnecessarily large doors leading to the dining room.

I stand corrected. Dining _hall._ The room had to be at least the length of a half a foot ball field, with walls covered in candelabra sconces and a large tapestry similar to the one in the throne room. A long table stretched through the center of the room, made of an ebony wood with ivory accessories. Three chandeliers hung from the cathedral-height ceilings. I absent-mindedly thought how great it would sound to have a choir concert here.

"King-man will be here soon, I must go," Lyal said.

"Okay. Thank you for helping me get ready," I said. She gave me a toothy grin, curtsied, and left.

I wasn't alone much longer before Rylon came in. I never heard the door open and close, but I heard the gentle click of his boots on the stone floor. I turned to find he was much closer to me than I had anticipated, and I was taken back when I found him so close. His crazy intense blue eyes staring at me.

"You look lovely," he said.

Once I started breathing normally again, I managed to say, "Thanks. You look nice too."

_You look nice too? Now he's gonna think I'm the most illiterate, small-minded-_

"I trust you found everything to your liking?" he pulled out my chair for me.

"Yes. My rooms are beautiful, thank you." I sat and placed my napkin in my lap.

"And Lyal was of help to you?" He sat to my left, and the head of the table.

"Very much so," I said.

"Then I'm glad you're enjoying your stay. The Council has been alerted that you are in my care, and they wish to hold court tomorrow if you are ready."

"The Council?" I asked, slightly confused.

"Two of the most esteemed fae, sages and magicians together make The Council. They serve as the government of the Underground, taking care of wars and trials. The High King is the leader of the Council, though he rarely attends and takes parts in court unless it's a serious matter," Rylon explained as goblins filled our crystal glasses with water.

"Will the High King be there tomorrow?" I asked.

It took him a bit longer to answer that. He gently traced the tip of a gloved finger around the rim of his glass. "Most likely. It's been quite some time since a human trial, so he'll probably want to come," he answered.

"Who and when was the last one?"

"Charles Lutwidge Dodgson in 1860. He came here on accident, and was sent back to the Aboveground with his memories."

"Do humans usually lose their memories of their time here when they come?"

"Normally, unless it is a rare case. Dodgson was allowed to keep his because when he returned, he helped create more links between the two grounds through literature. Our Time Sages foresaw this during his trial and convinced the Council of his usefulness," he said as the goblins began to bring out our food.

Some roasted bird was set on the table along with an assortment of vegetables and Rylon took a wine with his meal. My stomach growled impatiently as the servers placed my food in front of me. I wanted very badly to forget all my manners and ding in, but seeing how I _was _in a castle with the king next to me, I refrained. After Rylon had taken his first bite did I begin to rather quickly eat my food. From the corner of my eye I could see his eyebrows arch with amusement, but I ignored him and proceeded to eat my food.

It was all delicious, and at the end of the meal I was very full. Throughout the meal we had talked more of the Underground and the Aboveground. Comparing government and traditions and even weather.

"Does it snow in the Underground?" I asked.

"On occasion. Not very often in the Goblin Kingdom, but it has snowed twice in the past ten years. Which is more frequent than usual."

I glanced out a window to see it was very dark outside, and suddenly felt fatigue wash over me.

"What time is it?"

"Nearly midnight," he said calmly.

"Oh my gosh! How are you not tired?" I said with a yawn.

"Fae have a stronger stamina than humans. We can survive longer without food or water and can go for multiple days without rest."

"Oh. Well, I am not Fae, and therefore am tired. So imma go to bed now, night," I stood from my chair and stretched before walking to the door. Realizing I wasn't quite sure how to get back to my room, I turned to ask Rylon for assistance. "Rylon, can you show me back to my room? I don't think I can remember the way," I said kind of sheepishly.

"Of course," he said as he offered his arm to me, being a gentleman.

At first I hesitated, not ever been 'properly' escorted by a man before. But once I had taken his arm he led me back to my room. As we walked I made sure to pay attention to my surroundings so I wouldn't have this problem again. When we made it to my room, he opened my door for me and bid me goodnight, closing the door as he left. I went through my normal nighttime routine and then-to my great pleasure-crashed on my fluffy bed.

_I could get used to this life. _I thought as I drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Alice-Lady! Wake up now, please!" I heard Lyal's voice cut through my sleepy haze.

"Wha-?" I opened my eyes to see she was drawing back the curtains. As the autumn sun streamed in, I squeezed my eyes tight and hid my face under my covers. Which were comfortable beyond description, by the way.

"Time to go see the Council!" she yanked the covers out from my hands-with more strength than I expected-and pulled them back to reveal my body to the chill morning air.

"Five more minutes," I groaned and shrank into a ball, trying to conserve my body heat and blindly reaching for the sheets.

"Come on, Alice-lady!" Lyal finally just grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the bed and shoved me towards the bathroom. Happy to find there were no offensive windows in the bathroom, I opened my eyes to see my bed-ragged self in the mirror. I sighed and began to go through my morning routine, coming out of the bathroom when it was time to get dressed.

"Here is clothes!" she shoved some clean clothes-including undergarments-into my hands and turned to go tidy up the bathroom. I pulled out a light lavender sweatshirt and some jeans as well as my converse with socks. I was slightly confused how Lyal had gotten Aboveground clothes-in my size no less-but put on the clothes anyways.

"Lyal, where did you get human clothes?" I asked her when she came back into the bedroom.

"King-man let me go hopping in Aboveground! Is clothes okay?" I laughed at her cute mispronunciation of 'shopping' and nodded that the clothes were okay.

"Yay! Okay, time for morning food!" Still laughing, I let Lyal drag me down to the dining room where a plate covered in breakfast delicacies was waiting for me. I ate the breakfast alone and towards the end of my meal I began to wonder if Rylon was even going to come.

"Lyal, is Rylon not having breakfast withhhhin the dining hall today?" I asked, catching myself when I almost said _is Rylon not having breakfast with me?_ Rylon had kind of become my lifeline in this world. From what Sarah said, the Goblin King had the power to take and return humans to the Aboveground. Knowing that helped me cope with the whole idea of me being in the Underground, and there was always the thought that I'm only dreaming. Rylon was also the closest thing I had seen to a human in the Underground.

"King-man had to go early to see Council," Lyal said, oblivious to my almost slip up.

"Oh. Well, I guess I'm ready to leave if we need to go," I quickly gobbled down the rest of my food. I hadn't shown it, but I was _so_ ready to get this trial over with so I could just go back home and forget all this. Sure, I had always wanted to escape the boring everyday human life, but not into a strange and possibly dangerously real world. I felt Lyal grab my hand and vaguely registered that she was dragging me down to the throne room. My only thoughts were of home.

I was pulled out of my thoughts as Lyal came to a stop in the middle of the throne room. Strangely there were no other goblins there.

_Maybe they went with Rylon?_

She reached up and grabbed my other hand and closed her eyes as she began to mumble to herself in another language which I guessed was Fae or something. I watched while she mumbled to herself and waited for something to happen.

Suddenly I could feel the center of gravity in the room change. The room began to tilt sideways, but I didn't feel like I would fall over. Getting slightly nauseous, I closed my eyes. I felt the room spin some more, and then felt like I was crawling through one of the tube slides on a playground. Then I was floating, but moving very fast at the same time. For a second I thought I was flying. Then everything was still.

Lyal let go of my hands and I slowly opened my eyes. We were in a hallway, but not in Rylon's palace. The tapestries hanging from the ceiling weren't his. These were much more elaborate and decorated. The floor was some type of stone that shimmered and looked almost transparent. Walls of alabaster stone covered in pictures and paintings.

"Whoso travels to the royal court of the High King?" I turned at the voice to see a knight in shining armor. Literally. His metal-maybe even platinum from the way it was shining-reflected the light of the candle-lit sconces lining the hall.

"I is Lyal! Goblin subject of King Rylon, I bring human girl to trial." Lyal said proudly.

"Is this the human?" The guard stepped forward and inspected me as if he had never seen a human before.

"Oh, uh, yes," I mumbled awkwardly, not enjoying being stared at.

"Humans," he scoffed. "Very well, this way."

I watched as he turned to the large stone doors at the end of the hall, and with a bang of his spear on the ground, opened the doors. He ushered Lyal and me in, and suddenly I was _very_ nervous. It was like a normal courtroom, but instead of just one chair on the judge's bench, there were seven.

_'Two of the most esteemed fae, sages and magicians together make The Council, along with the High King.' Seven Chairs for Seven Council members._

"Good morning," I looked over and saw Rylon was addressing me. He truly looked kingly today. Dark tan and brown rich fabric draped over him in layers with small accents of leather and metal peeking out. His hair was slicked back and a silver ringlet wrapped around his forehead. Cascading behind him was a cape that looked to be made of silk with downy feathers littered across it.

"Oh, you too. So what exactly will happen?" I asked as I took a seat next to him.

"They'll ask you several questions, and you must answer truthfully. If you need help, come talk to me and I'll do what I can," he spoke in quick hushed tones, and I figured he wasn't really supposed to tell me that.

"Okay. Piece of cake."

Just then a knight-probably would have been the bailiff in normal court-came in and called for all to rise while the Council and High King entered. As we sat back down, Rylon leaned over and whispered to me who the Councilmen and women were.

"On the left end is Saulm Treach: Royal Fae, Trae Bacheus: Ancient Magician, Peuten Uriat: Morning Sage, Liam Eretil: High King, Latha Rolt: Night Sage, Tamala Sipyl: Ancient Magician, and Daelin Treach: Royal Fae."

"Any I need to be careful about?"

"Saulm and Daelin Treach, they hate humans, and will do everything they can to make sure your killed."

"Well, that's great. Thanks Rylon," I whispered as the High King called the court to order.

"We are here today on account of a human girl appearing in the Eastern Lands. Specifically the Goblin Kingdom and The Labyrinth. Said human may now present herself before the court," His deep booming voice called attention and definitely sounded kingly, but almost fatherly at the same time. _Okay, you seem reasonable. Please don't kill me._ I silently thought as I rose from my seat to stand before the Council.

"State your name and the land from which you came, human," I looked up to see the Treach siblings sneering at me.

"I am Alice Cordelia Williams of Beacon, New York," I said, trying to look as calm and collected as possible.

"Questioning of the human by the Council may now begin," said some journalist or something from off to the side. For a good long moment everything was quiet while I took in the Council members, and they took in me.

"Do you have any idea of how you came to the Underground?" The soft, intellectual voice of Latha Rolt rang out around the courtroom. Her dark Indian-looking skin was covered in rich fabrics of blues and silvers, and her black hair was pulled up in a simple up do. Her soft brown eyes waited for my response behind Dumbledore half-moon glasses.

"To some extent. I was in my bedroom and I did say the right words to be brought to the Labyrinth, but I didn't say 'right now'," I smiled because I wasn't sure if that would make any sense, but the Council members nodded their heads like they understood.

"And how did you become knowledgeable of those words?" Peuten Uriat said in a voice that sounded much older than he looked. Behind similar robes to Latha but of golds and reds, he looked exactly like an older Sean Connery but with a longer beard.

"I read them in a book." Hushed whispers and gasps started like wildfire throughout the courtroom. The High King called order again.

"How did you get hold of such a book?" The High King asked.

"Well, it was my aunt's, but she gave it to me…" As the court meeting progressed I was becoming more and more nervous and almost scared.

"Who was your aunt, Alice?" When the High King addressed me by my name the entire world seemed to stop moving and listen.

"S-Sarah Williams." Everyone-including me- turned and looked at Rylon who was watching me very intently. A cruel peal of laughter came from the judge's bench. I turned and saw Daelin Treach laughing at me.

"You all don't honestly think this pathetic _human_ could possibly be the True Keeper, do you? Ha! Why, she's nothing but a scrawny little rodent. Regardless of who _claims_ to be, we should just get rid of-"

"You forget your place, Daelin! You hold no power over her in this realm," Trae Bacheus boomed out.

"How dare you insult my sister in such a fashion!" After that the entire courtroom just went at it. People-well Fae- screaming accusations at one another, all angry about nothing. I glanced at Rylon who still seemed slightly shocked that I was Sarah's niece. I looked up to the Judge's bench and met the eyes of the High King. _He needs proof to believe me._ I quickly walked back to the table I had been sitting at.

"I don't know what to do! Can't you say something?" I whispered to Rylon. Without a word, he stood and addressed the court.

"Council! I wish to speak on behalf of the human Alice." Rylon's normally soft voice resonated and echoed off the stone walls

"Request granted! Proceed, young king," The High King said. The courtroom settled down at the King's words.

"I speak on behalf of the Goblin Kingdom, The Labyrinth, and the human Alice. This girl has brought herself to my lands of her own accord. When she made her wish, I was unaware. She wished herself to the Labyrinth, and the Labyrinth responded to her of its own accord. She obviously possesses magical powers. Powers not given to the humans. She had to have inherited them, and the only recently created line of magic is that of the Champion Sarah.

"If indeed the Champion Sarah had given her niece a token of magic from the Labyrinth and said her right words, then she very well could have given her powers and responsibilities to Alice, making her the True Keeper of the Labyrinth." When Rylon was done, not only was the Council silent, but so was I. I had no idea that what happened to Sarah was true. I mean, when I got to the Labyrinth I realized it was true, but I didn't know her story was about her.

After a good bit of silence, the High King finally spoke. "The Council will take a short recess to discuss and resolve the issue." With a bang of his gravel, the King stood and let the council out. I went back to my seat by Rylon.

"Niece of Sarah. Why didn't you tell me?" Rylon asked, but not accusing me.

"I didn't know the story was about her. So Jareth gave her those powers?"

"Some of them. When she became Champion of Jareth's Labyrinth, the Labyrinth itself gave her some of its power."

"Oh. So am I it's 'ruler' now?" he chuckled at my obvious aversion to being a ruler of any sort.

"I suppose so. If worse comes to worse, we might find a way for you to give back your gift." For some reason the word 'gift' really hit me. Not that I had been thinking of it as a curse necessarily, but right now it was more of an unresolved issue than a 'gift'.

I was about to ask another question when the Council came back in. The King called order and went on to present the verdict,

"The Council has ruled that Alice Cordelia Williams is too young to yet accept her power as the True Keeper of the Labyrinth. Therefore, she is to stay in the Underground for the next three months to be watched over by the Goblin King, Rylon, while her powers develop. During this time, she is not to leave the Underground for the sake of revealing magic to the human race whether it be intentional or not. After the three months have passed this court will come together once more to reach a verdict if she will stay in the Underground permanently, or return to the Aboveground. Court dismissed!"

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Hooray! A long chapter! Review please!


	6. It Will Show You Your Dreams

Hey y'all. I know it's been quite a while, but I was working on a stupid history project(that I'm still not done with-grumble grumble)and school demands my attention. -_- Hehe and I kinda sorta got slightly obsessed with (Disney)Tarzan and his beautiful wild rugged attractiveness, but I still love Jareth. So here's a lovely new chapter!

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing!

**Note: **I am still working on casting the Council, so if you have any suggestions leave them in a REVIEW!

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It Will Show You Your Dreams

I froze at those words. Three months? I'd be here till January! I'd miss Christmas and Thanksgiving, my mom's birthday, New Years. I can't stay. I looked over at Rylon, pleading with him to do something. He sighed and shook his head. _I can't do anything. _I could feel my heart racing and my breaths begin to shudder. Knowing a panic attack would come soon, I closed my eyes and calmly assessed the situation.

_I can get through this. No problem. If Jareth can re-order time, Rylon can too, right? I'll just sit it out until time to go home, and then Rylon can fix it so I come back on the day I left. Piece of cake._

I opened my eyes to see most of the court had left and the rest were filing out. The Council still sat above the courtroom, some watching intrigued, and others entertaining themselves with other things. Rylon was staring at me, as if he was waiting for me to yell and scream at the Council to send me home. _Maybe next time._ I smiled and shrugged my shoulders.

"So I guess we just go back to the castle now?" I asked, hiding my emotions. He still looked at me warily, but gave me a straight forward answer, trying to be as gentle as possible.

"You may, I must stay and speak with the Council since you are to be in my care. Technical things and whatnot." He smiled at me with sympathy and almost pity. Normally I would have snapped at his treating me so gently. _I'm practically an adult. I can take care of myself._ But I was tired and just wanted to go back to the castle and have some alone time.

"Okay. Um, how do I go back?"

"Lyal will escort you," He said, pulling his cloak back to reveal Lyal who had been hiding in it during the court. She smiled and grabbed my hands. I went ahead and closed my eyes as we Traveled back to the castle.

Somewhere in between the two places, a single tear was left floating in space.

* * *

I watched as in silence as pain and anger flitted across Alice's face. I did feel pity for her, but there was truly nothing I could do. The Council had already decided, and nothing changes their minds. Her green eyes held sadness hidden behind a thin wall of bravery as she and Lyal Traveled, and I saw a tear being to crawl out of her eye as they left. I commended her for her strength in the situation and silently sent a glamour of comfort over the castle, so that nothing would disturb her.

I turned towards the Council Bench and calmly waited for those who had observed the court to leave. As the last spectator finally left, the doors to the court room closed and left the Council and I alone.

"Rylon, we are trusting you to a task. Do you solemnly swear to accomplish it?" The stern voice of Latha pulled from my thoughts.

"I solemnly swear I will do everything in my power to accomplish the task entrusted to me." _What do they want me to do now?_

The Council and I had never been on very good terms, and I often felt their laws to be unjust or superficial. On more than one occasion I had been reprimanded for breaking a law, but I had never been punished. I always assumed it was because of the importance of the Goblin Kingdom's link to the Aboveground.

"We wish for you to test the girl. We know she is the True Keeper of the Labyrinth, but we do _not_ know the extent of her powers, or what she is capable of. Your task is to test her magic. Send her into the Labyrinth alone, see if she already knows the Labyrinth subconsciously, attack her and see how she reacts; things of that sort." Trae said.

"I refuse! This is inhumane. To poke and prod at this girl to see what power she has? Ridiculous." How could they ask that of me? Never before had I known the Council to be so cruel to humans. I scowled up at the High King, nearly blaming him for allowing the Council to do this.

"But you see, Rylon, _we_ are not humans." Saulm sneered at me, and I clenched my hands into fists in an effort not to Curse him straight to Hell.

"No, but she _is_ and we should abide by the rules of her kind and let her powers present themselves naturally." I could hear the tight anger in my voice.

"We haven't the time to sit and watch her for however long it may take. A war is beginning to brew in the Underground and The Council must attend to that, which is why we're asking you to do this simple task." Peuten words were true, but I was still opposed to treating her this way.

"I refuse to have any part in making an experiment of this girl."

"You are in no position to bargain with The Council! If you do not agree to the task at hand, then it will be assumed that the girl is to be a threat, and she _will_ be disposed of." Daelin's words dripped of disdain and hatred towards Alice and it made my blood curl.

"You can't do that. She's a human; it's against the law. Your law, Council." I spit my last sentence at them as a threat. I knew what deep trouble I would be in if I continued much more with this, but I would not stand for such unfair treatment towards any creature that I was responsible for.

"She is not fully human if she possesses magic, which has been displayed by her coming here uninvited. Therefore, we _can_ and if need be we _will_." I was shocked at the words of Peuten. I would not have thought that he would be supportive of this cruel notion.

There was nothing else I could say that wouldn't get me revoked of my powers and possibly my crown, so I stood and took in their proposition. _Do what we tell you, or she dies. _As much as I loved disobeying the Council, I wouldn't be responsible for the death of an innocent such as Alice.

"Very well. I would be _honored_ to help serve The Council." I gave a stiff bow and strode out of the courtroom.

"Be careful where you tread, young King, winter is coming and the ice is thin." Liam had said nothing the entire conversation, but now he chose to speak?

"Don't worry, _brother_, father taught me how to swim." And with that I was gone.

* * *

"Hey, Lyal! Was' Alice-Lady doin'?" Tiper likes to yell.

"Um she not feel good. Rain come out her eyes, so she ask me to go away," I said back. I sad Alice-Lady not happy.

"Oh. Was' Boss-guy doin'?"

"He still at Council thingy stupid!" Pik doesn't like it when Tiper ask stupid question.

"Hey! Don' yell at me!" Uh oh. They gonna fight now.

"Don' tell me wha' to do!" I sigh as Pik jump on Tiper's back.

"Hey! You two better quit all tha' mess." Hoggle's back!

"Hoggle! You been gone long time." All the other goblins give Hoggle hug. We all miss him.

"Yea, them fairies been messin' around out by the gates again, and I had to go 'n' fix 'em. Can't be everywhere at once, ya know." I is glad Hoggle back.

"Hoggle! There's a girl in the castle! A human girl!" Baby goblin shout next to me.

"A human? Sarah?" Hoggle look around for human girl. I dunno who Sarah is, but she ain't here.

"Hoggle, who Sarah?" Tiper ask now that he done fightin' Pik.

For a second Hoggle look'd like he wouldn't answer. "She's just an old runner. I shoulda know it wouldn't be her…" Hoggle started mumblin' to himself-which he does a bunch-and walked off towards the garden.

The Chair room was shut up for a couple seconds then the chickens came in and all the goblins went crazy. I don't like the chickens so I went to the food room to help with dinner. I had fun helping with food until the King-man showed up and he was in a bad mood, so we couldn't be loud and have fun anymore. When I brought King-man his food, he looked tired and sad.

"What wrong, King-man?" he sighed

"Where is Alice, Lyal?" I was kinda sad he didn't answer my question.

"She still in her room. When we got back rain was comin' out her eyes and she told me to go away."

"Very well, I will take her dinner to her." I ran back to the food room and grabbed Alice-Lady's food.

* * *

"Alice? May I come in?" I gently tapped on her door to try and get her attention. From what Lyal had said, she had been cooped up in here since they made it back to the castle—4 hours. After my _chat_ with the Council I had gone out to the Border Lines to blow off steam. _Guess I took longer than I thought._

"Go away," was her weak reply from inside. I was shocked at how lifeless her voice sounded. Building my resolve I knocked less gently on the door.

"Alice, I really must insist you eat dinner," I said in my "King Voice" as the goblins called it. There was a long moment of silence and then I heard her get up and trudge over to open the door. When she did, she grabbed the food and tried to close the door before I could come in, but I stuck my foot in the way and walked into her room.

"Please, just leave me alone," I looked at her for a while. Her striking green eyes were dull and the skin around them was red from crying. She looked half dead.

"Eat. We'll talk when you're done," I said sternly, Conjuring a goblet and cider for her. She nodded her head in thanks when I handed it to her and sat on the floor to eat her meal.

I watched as she ate and thought about her predicament. I sat at her vanity and sometime during my thoughts I Conjured a crystal and began to juggle it absent-mindedly. _I'll defiantly protect her, without question, but what to do about it? The Council-may they burn in Hell-_demands_ that I test her Magic. I hate to do this to her, but perhaps I could let her go though the Labyrinth by herself and see what happens. And after that I could teach her some of my own Magic._

"Do all the Goblin Kings use crystals?" Alice's soft voice broke though my thoughts.

"Hmm? Oh, yes. It's a very basic Magic. Other Kingdoms that interact with the Aboveground use it too," I said.

"What other kingdoms work with the Aboveground?"

"Well, the Centaurs do to keep track of intelligence and what not, the Fairies do to go change the seasons, and on some rare occasions Witches and Oracles will as well."

"So Oracles are like fortune tellers?" I laughed softly at the comparison.

"Yes, I suppose so. A true Oracle in the Aboveground would never parade around with a circus or anything though. They prefer to keep to themselves." She nodded her head in agreement.

"Alice, we need to talk about this," I said gently after a moment of silence between us.

"There's nothing to talk about. I'll stay here and when I'm done I'll just go back home," she wasn't looking at me.

"It's not that simple, I'm afraid. The Council spoke to me about your predicament, and there is a large chance that you will have to stay in the Underground," I could see her eyes widen and her breaths begin to become more shallow. "That doesn't mean you won't get to see your family, though. I could take you back from time to time to visit and when your powers are more-"

"But I will always be tied to this world. I will never be able to go home forever," I sighed, and nodded my head.

"I want to talk to Sarah. Now, please," she stood and stared at me with a resolved look in her eyes.

"Very well. Come with me." I swept out of her room, gently grabbing her wrist as I walked past and headed up to the observatory tower. When we finally made it there, I pulled a cloth off of a full-length mirror. For a moment she scrutinized the mirror, and then gasped as she recognized it.

"Is that the Mirror of Erised?" she reached out and grazed her hand along the heavily-engraved frame of the mirror.

"Yes. As well as showing desires, it is also a portal between the two worlds. It was moved here after some sort of wizard controversy up there," when I could feel static in the air from the mirror I gently pulled her hand away from it, worried the Magic might shock her.

"What do I do?" she glanced at my reflection

"Ask it to show you someone."

"Show me Sarah, please," she said nervously. I watched as she waited in anticipation and then huffed in irritation when nothing happened.

"Be more specific, Alice." I said through a smile. She glanced up at me and then glared at the mirror.

"Show me Sarah Williams, the Champion of the Labyrinth." I watched as the surface of the mirror rippled and faded into the mirror view of a bathroom. I heard her gasp in awe.

"Is that your Aunt's house?" I asked warily.

"Yes." She reached out to touch it, but I pulled her arm back quickly.

"I wouldn't. The balance between the worlds is very delicate and the mirror doesn't take kindly to Traveling through it. I've seen even the strongest of magicians get lost in between the worlds." I could feel her gaze on me as I gently brought her had back to her side. I looked down at her, and found I enjoyed the warmth of her skin beneath the leather of my glove. She blushed and cleared her throat, moving away from me slightly.

"So what do we do now?" she asked impatiently.

"We wait for Sarah."

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Yay a fancy new chapter! R&R!


	7. The Babe With The Power

Hi! its been like three months since my last update! Let's get a head count of how many readers want to kill me for the unending suspense? Haha just kidding! ...right? Sorry, you guys! I've just been lazy. :( But here's a shiny new chapter that will keep you happy while I try to find some plot! yayyyyyy

**Edit:** You know, sometimes in life we mess up. Sometimes we don't want to finish a certain paragraph and just end it in blah blah blah so we can fix it later. And sometimes we forget about that sad little unfinished paragraph. And that is why I had to edit this chapter. Because I forgot about that sad little paragraph. I love you, little paragraph, and I will never forget you again. So, what did we learn from this? Always pre-read your chapters before posting so that no other paragraph is left unfinished. Together we can make a difference in this human world, where writing and grammatical errors are constantly made. Just pre-read your new chapters.

*sigh* that was deep.

carry on.

**Disclaimer: **i own everything! jk i ain't got zip.

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The Babe With The Power

We waited for at least an hour. And we didn't talk to each other. I almost started a conversation, but when I looked over at Rylon, he was looking into a crystal and had a really sad look on his face. When he realized I was watching him, he dropped the crystal and it vanished right before it hit the ground. He glanced at me for a second, and then looked away, going back to his thoughts.

When Sarah showed up she wasn't surprised at all to find me sitting on the other side of the mirror, which was concerning.

"Alice? What are you doing in the Labyrinth?" she asked, intrigued.

"So you know where I am?" I asked, my slight anger at the whole situation building up.

"Yes," she said.

"And you are the Champion of the Labyrinth?" I practically spit the words at her.

"Yes, Alice," she suddenly looked very old and tired. "Alice, who is with you?" I knew she was avoiding the conversation, and I decided to let her-for the moment. She stared at Rylon and I nodded for him to introduce himself.

"I am Rylon, the Goblin King. It is an honor to meet you, my lady," He bowed slightly and Sarah nodded her head in acknowledgment.

"Why was it you called me, Alice?" she asked.

"For interrogation," I said.

"All right, what do you want to know?"

"They said you gave me your power when you gave me the book. Now I'm the Keeper of the Labyrinth, and they're making me stay here for three months for my '_powers' _to develop," I wasn't really blaming Sarah for this-I'm sure that's how it sounded-but I was very confused, and she seemed to have the most answers right now.

She seemed shocked at what I said, and then closed her eyes for a second.

"'What no one knew was that the king of the goblins had fallen in love with the girl and he had given her certain powers.' If you're the Goblin King, what happened to Jareth?" She looked to Rylon, and he calmly answered her question.

"No one knows where he has gone. After his Labyrinth was defeated, he resigned as King and disappeared," Sarah's eyes held a soft sadness and guilt for a minute, and then moved on.

"When I gave you the book yesterday, do you remember what I said?" she looked back at me.

"Um, something like, 'I'm too old for fairy tales, why don't you read them for me.' or something like that. Or maybe it was 'I too old to believe in fairy tales…"I wracked my brain, trying to remember her words.

"Alice, did you say you would believe for her?" Rylon gently grabbed my arm, but his bright blue eyes held a forcefulness that screamed at me to answer.

"Y-yes. I think I did," Realization washed over me. "Oh, my god, I've done this to myself!" I couldn't believe I had thrown myself into this mess, and now I couldn't do anything to get out of it. I ran my hands through my hair in anger.

"Alice, calm down. You'll be alright," Sarah used her "mother voice" that usually calms me down. It didn't really work.

"Sarah, I'm gonna be stuck here for three damn months! This isn't something I can calm down about! Not to mention the hypocrite you're being right now! How would you have handled this at my age?" I knew Sarah wasn't the best teenager, and it was kinda mean for me to throw that in her face, but oh well.

It was really quiet for a while and I realized that Rylon had left. I looked over and Sarah was trying not to cry.

"Alice, I'm sorry that this has happened to you, but there is nothing either of us can do about it now. You will just have to find a way to get through this," I took her words with a grain of salt, and sighed. _Guess I have to put on my big girl panties now. _I nodded my head and smiled at my aunt, trying to show I was calm now, and wouldn't make any rash decisions.

Remembering my family, I said, "Since I have to stay here for a while, can you make up story for my parents so they don't call the police or anything? Where do they think I am now?"

"Still in your room pouting," She said with a smile, "My brother called me for advice when you didn't answer the door. I only guessed that you could have come here, so I told him to leave you alone and check on you in the morning,"

"Thanks. So you'll cover for me?"

"Of course," she gave me one of those 'older sister' looks, and I smiled at her. I'm not sure why, but the mirror began to slowly dissolve the picture of Sarah and return to its original state. I waved bye to Sarah as the glass was once more reflective.

I was too tired to seek Rylon out, and he was the only company I would have been happy in right now, so I made my way back to my room. When I finally made it into the bed and turned out all the lights, I just laid there and thought to myself.

_I am the Keeper of the Labyrinth. Is that a good thing? I guess this is cool. I've always wanted to be a wizard or whatever. It's the same kind of thing, right? Does Harry Potter exist? And what about all that other crazy stuff? Vampires and werewolves? Faeries and pixies? Hmm. I guess that's another question for another day… I wonder if I'll see a unicorn…_

And with such thoughts, I drifted into a deep and much needed sleep.

* * *

"Lyal, has Alice woken up yet?" I said to her over the clatter and chatter that always filled the throne room.

"Yes, king-sir! But she doesn't want to come out of her room," I smiled at her eagerness to answer my question.

"I see. Am I scheduled for any audiences today?" Although she was not my secretary, the goblins are natural born gossipers and I would be surprised if they were unaware of what was going on in the kingdom.

"Uh…Prince Peter is coming today!" I smiled at the thought of my nephew coming to visit and a plan began forming in my mind.

"Go and wake Alice. Tell her we have visitors coming, and help her to dress appropriately," With that I rose from my throne and headed to my rooms to take care of some small business.

"Yes, king-sir!"

* * *

At the sound of knocking on my door, I sighed and rose to answer it. After last night, I had intended on having the day to myself just to rest and let things sink in further before jumping into this strange world. Although, it seemed that would not be happening.

"Come in," I said after unlocking the door. I didn't turn to acknowledge Lyal as she entered, recognizing the familiar shuffling of her feet against the stone floor.

"King-man has visitor today and wants you to meet him. Time to get pretty!" she said enthusiastically.

I frowned and turned away from her. "No, Lyal. I'm not in the mood for meeting anyone today," I said, solemnly.

"But, King-man said that-"

"I don't care what kin-what _Rylon _said to do. I don't want to go, and I don't have to," I said stubbornly. I didn't care if the High King himself was here to see me, I didn't _want _to go downstairs.

"Please, Alice-lady?" I looked down to see Lyal staring up at me with the worst puppy eyes I have ever seen. It was frickin' adorable. _Who knew cuteness would be my kryptonite._ I smiled, knowing my resolve was wayyyy past broken, and sighed.

"Okay, Lyal. Go pick out an outfit," I said as I walked to the bathroom, shaking my head at my own weakness.

After I finished in the bathroom, I returned to see what Lyal had picked out for me. It was another dress: white in color with trumpet sleeves adorned in golden trimming. A brown corset with green embroidery hugged my waist nicely. Matching golden jewelry and dark leather slippers completed the outfit, while Lyal simply placed a golden circlet upon my head to hold my hair back. I smiled and thanked her on my way out, assuring her that I could find my own way to the throne room.

The corset forced me to stand straight as I walked through the halls of the castle, giving me an air of royalty about me. I noticed some of the girl goblins stopped what they were doing to watch me float down the hall and sighed. _I suppose even goblins wish for a fairy godmother to change their rages to satin too. _As I entered the throne room, I noticed there was another chair to the right of Rylon's throne.

"It's for you," I nearly jumped a foot in the air as Rylon whispered behind me. I whirled around to see him smirking at me.

"Don't scare me like that!" I screamed, only half-mad.

"Did I scare you? I apologize," he said, still smirking as he kissed the top of my hand in apology.

"Well, just see that it doesn't happen again," I ripped my hand from his, glowering at him with his stupid smirk. As elegantly as I could, I turned and walked to the seat next to the throne, sitting grandly upon it. Once seated, I looked to him and raised an eyebrow. _Betcha you can't sit as fancily as I can. _I challenged silently.

Laughing, he walked over to his throne, cape swirling behind him, and plopped down in it. He nodded his head to me. _Very well, you win. _

I giggled as well and slumped into my seat. I took in his appearance with almost eager eyes. His shirt was a soft grey, covered by a dark leather vest. A rust colored cape fastened to the side covered his shoulders, but his shirt was open enough to see a small part of his chest. His leggings were a few shades darker than his shirt and his boots were the same color as his vest.

Laying upon his chest was his amulet: held on a silver string, it was shaped like a diamond, one side was gold and the other silver. In the center was a round stone that looked to be emerald. Almost unconsciously, I reached out to touch it curiously. Surprisingly, it was warm to the touch, and it even seemed to have a tiny heartbeat.

"Every fae has one. It holds our power. Those who govern kingdoms use it to communicate with their lands," he said while I moved it back and forth gently between my fingers.

"It's warm. Have you always had it?" I glanced up at him and was caught by his bright blue eyes. Blushing, I looked back down at the amulet.

"No, it was given to me when I turned 170-close to fourteen in human years," he said.

"How old are you?" I asked as I sat back into my chair.

"2,863," he said proudly.

"But you look-"

"Young? Once we reach our prime, we don't age unless we choose to," he smiled at my confusion.

"So how old do you fancy yourself?"

"I would be twenty-five in human years," he said.

"How old were you when you became Goblin King?"

"Seventeen, or 945," he was still smiling.

"Wow. Puberty must be a bitch," I smirked at him. He cleared his throat in awkwardness, and I smiled even more.

"Well, that is-uh-not a topic young ladies should be discussing, now is it?" he said, trying to look kingly and mature. I rolled my eyes and sat up as a small goblin guard rushed in.

"Announcing Prince Peter, leader of the Faeries Island," he said in a gruff voice. As he stepped aside, a young boy walked in. He looked to be my age or younger in human years, with messy blonde hair and vibrant green eyes. Dressed rather sloppily, he yanked off his hat as he bowed to us. Rylon nodded his head in acknowledgement, and began to smile.

"Hello, Peter. What brings you here?" he asked almost playfully.

"Hey, Rylon. Well, Tink heard that some fairies were being 'abused' right outside the Labyrinth gates, and practically _forced_ me to come here so she could check it out and-" he was cut off as a small glowing light flew out from his hat and began to jingle at him angrily. Peter swatted at the light a couple times before grabbing it and stuffing it down his shirt. "Cut it out, Tink!" he said to the light. She let out another angry jingle before being quiet. "So anyways, we checked it out and some silly old goblin was trying to kill 'em by blasting cold air at 'em. They just get scared and fall down. Nothin' that'll kill 'em,"

By this time I had figured that he was _the _Peter Pan and began to smile. I glanced over at Rylon to see he was watching me, and nodded his head to affirm my thoughts. Turning back to Peter he said, "Well, I'm glad there was no harm done. Peter, this is Alice Williams, the True Keeper of the Labyrinth,"

"Nice to meet you. Say, are you from the Aboveground? 'Cause you sure smell like it," he gave me a skeptical look and I laughed slightly.

"Nice to meet you, too. I _smell _of the Aboveground?" I looked at Rylon to see he was snickering at my reaction. I began to feel heat in my cheeks from embarrassment. "Yes, I am from the Aboveground," I said almost awkwardly.

"Do you know any cool stories?" Peter asked enthusiastically as he floated into the air with his legs crossed.

"Uh, yes. I do. Have you heard the story of the Little Mermaid?" I smiled with fondness at the mention of the tale; it had been my favorite when I was younger.

"No, tell it!" he smiled, and didn't notice as Tink flew out of his shirt to hear the story as well.

"Once upon a time there was a little mermaid who lived deep in the ocean…" I told the tale as best as I could, being sure to tell the ending that Hans Christian Andersen had originally wrote, and not the Disney ending.

"That was a horrible story!" Peter said when I finished. He stopped floating in the air and gently landed on the ground.

"Why?" I asked, taken back.

"She turned to foam! The prince didn't fall in love with her, or anything!" he exclaimed.

"Sometimes stories don't have happy endings," I said.

"It would've been better if it had pirates," he mumbled to himself and I smiled at his innocence.

"I'm sorry," I said.

"Eh, it's not your fault. I'm sure some old grumpy grown-up wrote it," I giggled a little at his words and thought about what Rylon had said earlier. _The day Peter Pan grows up will be the end of all happiness, I'm sure. _"Well, I better be heading back to Neverland. Good to see you, Rylon," his words pulled me out of my thoughts, and I found myself sad to see him go.

"Travel safe, nephew," Rylon stood and shook hands with Peter.

"It was nice meeting you, Miss Alice," he said before bowing to me. I stood as well and curtsied to him.

"You too, Peter," I smiled fondly at him. Tink flew up beside me and jingled a bit before going back to Peter's side. "What did she say?" I asked.

"She said she likes you. Bye!" And with a toothy grin, he soared out through the window and out across the sky, headed towards his home.

"I had no idea…" I whispered half to myself.

"That he was real? You'll find many of your Aboveground fairy tale characters and creatures exist here," Rylon said.

"For example?" I asked as I turned from the window to look at him. The way the setting sun shone, it looked as though he was radiating light himself.

"Peter, Thumbelina, mermaids do exist as well as dragons, unicorns…most anything," he said calmly as he looked out the window over the Labyrinth.

"Hmm. Magic carpets?" I asked, deciding to make a game of it.

"Of course not, that's ridiculous. Inanimate objects can't fly, much less with a persons' weight on them," I giggled at his reasoning and leaned against the window sill. For a moment we both stood there silently, just watching the sun set. I sighed in contentedness, and felt his calm gaze settle on my back.

"Would you like to see the library?"

* * *

yay cliff-hanger! but not really. R&R PLEASE! ...i might write faster if there were reviews...


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